The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Oracle Cerner plan to resume VA’s EHR modernization in summer 2024 after a pause in April due to safety and reliability concerns. Dr. Neil Evans and Mike Sicilia expressed their readiness to move forward, awaiting the final decision from VA Secretary Denis McDonough. Managing two EHR platforms is challenging, and they stressed the urgency of transitioning to a single system. Some members of Congress questioned the progress and allocation of $10 billion in taxpayer funds for the project.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the EHR vendor Oracle Cerner have announced plans to recommence the agency’s EHR modernization project in the summer of 2024. This decision comes after a temporary halt in April, prompted by ongoing concerns related to patient safety and the reliability of the system.
During a House Appropriations Oversight hearing on the EHRM project’s implementation, Dr. Neil Evans, the acting program executive director of the VA’s EHRM Office, mentioned, “In the summer of 2024, and even before that, we should engage in substantive discussions about whether we are prepared to proceed with the EHRM restart.”
Mike Sicilia, the executive vice president at Oracle, echoed Dr. Evans’ sentiment during the hearing, stating, “I concur with Dr. Evans’ proposed timeline. It appears that by next summer if the go-live phase progresses favorably in March, we should be ready to resume the rollout. This is our expectation.”
Both Evans and Sicilia emphasized that the final decision regarding the EHR deployment schedule in the following year would be made by Denis McDonough, the VA secretary.
The VA currently utilizes the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) EHR platform in most of its hospitals. The department had initiated the Oracle Cerner EHR implementation at just five facilities before the rollout was put on hold at additional sites.
Dr. Evans highlighted the significant challenges of managing two distinct EHR platforms across the agency rather than having a single, unified EHR system. He expressed a sense of urgency, stating, “Every day, I wake up wondering if we are making progress in this direction. We cannot afford to remain in a perpetual reset mode. I would argue that the longer we maintain a healthcare system running on two different electronic healthcare systems, the greater the risk. Therefore, we must prioritize moving forward with a single electronic health record system.”
Several members of Congress expressed frustration during the hearing, questioning the pace of improvement in the EHR project despite significant taxpayer funding. Representative Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) voiced concerns, saying, “We’ve allocated $10 billion in taxpayer dollars. What tangible results have we achieved? What if we reduced funding? What if it were zero next year? Would that spur faster progress in fixing this program?”
